County To Honor Police Volunteers

Meet the Fairfax County Police Department’s volunteers on Friday, April 13, at 7 p.m. in the Fairfax County Government Center Board Room. The keynote speaker will be the Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.

From patrol to photography to providing spiritual solace, FCPD volunteers serve in roles essential to public safety. In 2011, Fairfax County residents dedicated nearly 65,000 hours to the Fairfax County Police Department and every year since 1983, they have contributed significant hours of their own time volunteering with the department. In June of 2011 the Auxiliary Police Officer program surpassed the one million hours of service mark.

The 207 members of the department’s Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS), Auxiliary Police Officers (APOs) and Chaplains are assigned to every local district police station and other police facilities. They come from a variety of backgrounds and offer a variety of skills and abilities to the agency.

More than 80 awards will be presented to Friday, including:

Awards for 500 up to 25,000 committed hours to the department

President’s Call to Service Award (4,000 or more service hours)

Joyce McDermott Award for Outstanding Auxiliary Police Officer

25 years or more of service to the department (Auxiliary Police Officers)

VIPS/APOs of the Year for Patrol, Administration, Crime Prevention and Training

Innovative Project Award for the Reston District Station 2011 Safe December Anti-DWI Campaign.

To get involved with the police volunteer programs, visit the Fairfax County Police website (search by keyword: VIPS, APO, Citizens Police Academy); or go directly to: